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Fantastic Four movie review
I'm still in a foul mood from the iPod thing, and a host of other Murphy's Law events this morning, and I don't think I'm going to be able to do anything useful until I expunge at least part of that mood. So I'll get out some of my ire by writing a review (and I've been pissed at all the negative reviews of FF, so I'm writing a POSITIVE review to vent. So there).
CAPSULE
Very tightly directed, good effects, largely competent acting. Far from Oscar-worthy (except maybe on technical stuff), but a fun movie. Recommended.
RANT
Okay, a lot of comments I've seen have said the first five minutes sucked, so I'll start by wondering what they were smoking.
In the first scene, we're introduced to four of the five major characters (Reed, Ben, Victor and Sue, in that order). We find out a little about each of them, more about Reed and Victor than about the others. Rivalries and loyalties are established. We see that Reed is at the end of his rope and desperate for any help he can get, and that Victor is out to exploit that. We even get the plot device explained: cosmic storms that can alter DNA. As first scenes go, it may not have any explosions or profound truths, but it sets up the story most excellently. And by the end of the second short scene, we've met Johnny, seen what sort of guy he is, gotten more insight into Ben and into the relationship between Reed and Sue (epitomized by her having her suit unzipped past her clevage, and Reed's more fascinated by the suit itself).
In under ten minutes, they're in space, we know who they are, and explosions are imminent.
Now, I will admit that once they get back on the ground it tends to meander a bit. There isn't an overriding plot like "Some mysterious agency is plotting something sinister for Gothaam" to drive things, and I expect the lack of a standard action movie plot is what has put off a lot of the critics. Instead, the movie settles into more of a "slice of life" plot, in which we see how these five people have had their lives changed, how they deal with it, and how they grow together from a loose web of acquaintances into a family (okay, Victor doesn't become part of the family).
It does, however, have a fairly clear structure, even if there isn't a "describe in five words" plot core.
1. Origins
2. Discovery of powers
3. The Incident On The Bridge (climax in a Shakespearean sense)
4. Looking for a cure, and do they even want a cure?
5. Confrontation with Doom
Part 4 is probably the least focused, since it also deals with the consequences of instant fame. But by the time they've finished fighting Doom, they've come to grips with their powers and their status as public figures. "It's our job."
(Aside: I read the novelization first. One significant deviation is that in the novel, Reed has to use the plants to create the artificial storm, and Ben uses up the last of them to turn back into the Thing, thus making it a tragic sacrifice. In the movie, there doesn't seem to really be any limitation other than power supply, but Ben makes the decision to stay rocky anyway...which seemed a bit too quick of an adaptation, but it's not like I really wanted to see more angst anyway, so I'm cool with it.)
Anyway, the story is about people who change and have to come to grips with it. It's a common enough plot in non-action films (i.e. coming of age stories, coming out of the closet stories, coming back from the war, etc), and "superpowers as metaphor for puberty" isn't exactly a NEW trope for Marvel, eh? With an ensemble cast instead of a single star, not everyone's going to get fully developed, but at least Reed gets to have his own emotional plotline worked out fully.
In fact, while it may not be obvious at first glance, this movie really is about Reed Richards growing a spine emotionally even as he loses one physically. As the movie progresses, he's more and more willing to fight for what he cares for, and while this blows up in his face a couple times, he keeps trying. And in the end, he wins: he defeats the villain, gets the girl, and the wedge between him and his best friend has been removed.
I've also seen criticism of the final fight scene, but as a first outing for the team, I thought it worked well. Each member fights Doom individually, and is unable to defeat him. Then Reed has a Plan, they work together and Doom is stopped.
Okay, enough about the story. Now for some words on the acting.
Jessica Alba was actually competent, and I didn't have to work hard to believe she was someone with a PhD in genetics, or that she was old enough to have a PhD of any sort. Her acting wasn't stellar, but it wasn't something I had to grit my teeth and endure.
Victor's actor was really good at being the oily businessman, but his voice was TOTALLY wrong for the armored villain. Every time Doom said something in the final fight scene, it sounded wrong. I hope they get a different actor for the inevitable sequel, and justify the voice change as being a side effect of the final battle. Maybe they could get Frank Welker to do the voice?
Chiklis did a good job of acting through the latex. He actually emoted better in the makeup than outside of it, probably because he was trying harder. :)
The other two were okay. No great shakes, but I didn't feel like they were actors playing parts, rather they were the characters. Oh, and Stan Lee was born to play Willie Lumpkin.
Finally, the effects. While I liked the Hulk movie's way of doing things, I think they got better results here by just putting Chiklis in the suit and using CG to tweak it up. The elasticity effects were good, and I especially liked Reed's keyboard face. Sue's effects were okay, but seemed to be too "safe" and conventional. Johnny's flame effects were a little too cartoony at times, but better than most CG flames.
And there you have it. If you're not familiar with my usual rating scale, "Recommended" translates to about a B, or three stars out of four. It's not "OMGBBQ YOU GOTTA SEE THIS" good, but it's definitely "Find the time to see it in a theater" good.
CAPSULE
Very tightly directed, good effects, largely competent acting. Far from Oscar-worthy (except maybe on technical stuff), but a fun movie. Recommended.
RANT
Okay, a lot of comments I've seen have said the first five minutes sucked, so I'll start by wondering what they were smoking.
In the first scene, we're introduced to four of the five major characters (Reed, Ben, Victor and Sue, in that order). We find out a little about each of them, more about Reed and Victor than about the others. Rivalries and loyalties are established. We see that Reed is at the end of his rope and desperate for any help he can get, and that Victor is out to exploit that. We even get the plot device explained: cosmic storms that can alter DNA. As first scenes go, it may not have any explosions or profound truths, but it sets up the story most excellently. And by the end of the second short scene, we've met Johnny, seen what sort of guy he is, gotten more insight into Ben and into the relationship between Reed and Sue (epitomized by her having her suit unzipped past her clevage, and Reed's more fascinated by the suit itself).
In under ten minutes, they're in space, we know who they are, and explosions are imminent.
Now, I will admit that once they get back on the ground it tends to meander a bit. There isn't an overriding plot like "Some mysterious agency is plotting something sinister for Gothaam" to drive things, and I expect the lack of a standard action movie plot is what has put off a lot of the critics. Instead, the movie settles into more of a "slice of life" plot, in which we see how these five people have had their lives changed, how they deal with it, and how they grow together from a loose web of acquaintances into a family (okay, Victor doesn't become part of the family).
It does, however, have a fairly clear structure, even if there isn't a "describe in five words" plot core.
1. Origins
2. Discovery of powers
3. The Incident On The Bridge (climax in a Shakespearean sense)
4. Looking for a cure, and do they even want a cure?
5. Confrontation with Doom
Part 4 is probably the least focused, since it also deals with the consequences of instant fame. But by the time they've finished fighting Doom, they've come to grips with their powers and their status as public figures. "It's our job."
(Aside: I read the novelization first. One significant deviation is that in the novel, Reed has to use the plants to create the artificial storm, and Ben uses up the last of them to turn back into the Thing, thus making it a tragic sacrifice. In the movie, there doesn't seem to really be any limitation other than power supply, but Ben makes the decision to stay rocky anyway...which seemed a bit too quick of an adaptation, but it's not like I really wanted to see more angst anyway, so I'm cool with it.)
Anyway, the story is about people who change and have to come to grips with it. It's a common enough plot in non-action films (i.e. coming of age stories, coming out of the closet stories, coming back from the war, etc), and "superpowers as metaphor for puberty" isn't exactly a NEW trope for Marvel, eh? With an ensemble cast instead of a single star, not everyone's going to get fully developed, but at least Reed gets to have his own emotional plotline worked out fully.
In fact, while it may not be obvious at first glance, this movie really is about Reed Richards growing a spine emotionally even as he loses one physically. As the movie progresses, he's more and more willing to fight for what he cares for, and while this blows up in his face a couple times, he keeps trying. And in the end, he wins: he defeats the villain, gets the girl, and the wedge between him and his best friend has been removed.
I've also seen criticism of the final fight scene, but as a first outing for the team, I thought it worked well. Each member fights Doom individually, and is unable to defeat him. Then Reed has a Plan, they work together and Doom is stopped.
Okay, enough about the story. Now for some words on the acting.
Jessica Alba was actually competent, and I didn't have to work hard to believe she was someone with a PhD in genetics, or that she was old enough to have a PhD of any sort. Her acting wasn't stellar, but it wasn't something I had to grit my teeth and endure.
Victor's actor was really good at being the oily businessman, but his voice was TOTALLY wrong for the armored villain. Every time Doom said something in the final fight scene, it sounded wrong. I hope they get a different actor for the inevitable sequel, and justify the voice change as being a side effect of the final battle. Maybe they could get Frank Welker to do the voice?
Chiklis did a good job of acting through the latex. He actually emoted better in the makeup than outside of it, probably because he was trying harder. :)
The other two were okay. No great shakes, but I didn't feel like they were actors playing parts, rather they were the characters. Oh, and Stan Lee was born to play Willie Lumpkin.
Finally, the effects. While I liked the Hulk movie's way of doing things, I think they got better results here by just putting Chiklis in the suit and using CG to tweak it up. The elasticity effects were good, and I especially liked Reed's keyboard face. Sue's effects were okay, but seemed to be too "safe" and conventional. Johnny's flame effects were a little too cartoony at times, but better than most CG flames.
And there you have it. If you're not familiar with my usual rating scale, "Recommended" translates to about a B, or three stars out of four. It's not "OMGBBQ YOU GOTTA SEE THIS" good, but it's definitely "Find the time to see it in a theater" good.
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You really want Dr. Doom to sound like Abu the monkey?
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lets'see...Welker is the voice of:
Spike from Tom & Jerry "Tahats my Doomboht!"
Scooby-Doo "Real refore Roctor Room!"
Gogo Dodo "Doom doomdeum!"
and the Flinstone's dog, Dino "I say, Reed, I shall kill you now."